Cannabis Medicine

In response to urgent need expressed by parents of children with intractable epilepsy, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is allowing Investigational New Drug studies of purified CBD (cannabidiol) as an anti-seizure medication.

For many years, the federal government has subsidized studies designed to prove the negative effects of marijuana, while blocking inquiry into its potential benefits. Ironically, the government’s search for harm has yielded remarkable scientific insights into cannabis as a remedy.

Scientists have only recently begun to investigate and understand the critical role that the endocannabinoid system plays in alcohol addiction and various mood disorders. Alcohol dependence is linked to down-regulation of endocannabinoids and CB1 brain receptors.

A growing number of studies indicate that cannabis may have medicinal value for certain diseases. Between 1975 and the present, at least 110 controlled clinical studies have been published, assessing well over 6,100 patients suffering from a wide range of conditions.

Recent scientific research highlights the crucial role of the endocannabinoid system in protecting against PTSD, a debilitating chronic condition involving horrific memories that cannot be erased. Medical scientists are studying potential PTSD treatments that target the endocannabinoid system.

The role of the endocannabinoid system in nicotine addiction is being increasingly acknowledged. Researchers conducted a pilot, randomised double blind placebo controlled study set out to assess the impact of the ad-hoc use of cannabidiol (CBD) in smokers who wished to stop smoking.

Bonni Goldstein, MD, spoke to 120 serious, devoted, desperate, courageous parents in Milpitas, CA, on the subject of CBD and Pediatric Epilepsy. “There’s a lot on the internet that’s opinion,” she said, “I’m here to give you the facts.”

New research in medical marijuana is shocking scientists in the industry right out of their white lab coats, and its implications for treating medical conditions that range from cancer to schizophrenia are poised to take the federal government by storm.

Cannabis and its derivatives have been documented for anti-epileptic effects since 1881. Today, the promise of cannabidiol (CBD) as an anti-epileptic treatment is prompting people to move to states that have safe access to medicinal products containing this compound.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a phytocannabinoid, with anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects and has recently been shown to exert a tissue sparing effect during chronic myocardial ischaemia and reperfusion.